The Friendship of House and Wilson
by AudioA Fan Aka Silversi
Summary: Ever wonder how House and Wilson became friends? The series hasn't told us yet, so this is my take on it.


The Friendship of House and Wilson

A/N: This is an excerpt from a _House_ story that I'm currently writing, so the beginning and the ending might seem a little different. The story that this comes from follows a Production Assistant Intern around as she shadows House and his ducks for two weeks under the 'false' assumption that she's making a documentary, but they're actually researching a movie to make about Dr. House. This is a flash-back moment for Wilson on the Intern's first day on the job.

I thought it would be fun to play on how Wilson and House met, since so far the series hasn't told us. They've always been friends…here's my version of how that happened.

This is a one shot story.

* * *

Dr. James Wilson stood next to the young production intern, Lori, in the bustling hallway at Princeton Plainsboro Teaching Hospital. They both watched Dr. House disappear into one of the exam rooms in the clinic. Apparently Dr. Cameron had wanted a consul.

"House may seem like a scary guy, but don't let him freak you out too much." Wilson said with a gentle smile down at Lori, who clutched her notebook to her side in case she needed to scribble down a few notes. "He likes to say outrageous things and study how people react." He shrugged. "He always has."

Lori nodded; she'd figured that part out for herself already with her very first meeting with him. "Have you known him long?" She unfolded her notebook, and withdrew the pen she had stashed in her front pocket. She clicked it and looked up at him then smiled to placate him. "I like to try and write everything down. Unfortunately if I don't write it down I'll forget what you said like two seconds later."

Wilson smiled. "No Problem." He went into the story of how he and House had become friends.

They had actually met at college; they'd taken some of the same general med courses together back in the day. Back then, they'd been more of acquaintances, rather then friends, at least at first.

In one of their courses they had been sitting next to each other, and (believe it or not) House was just as outspoken then as he was now. Wilson had been a bit shyer. At one point there had been a particularly obnoxious 'know it all' med student who seemed to be put in that class just to make Wilson's life miserable. He would flaunt his grades in Wilson's face, he would make sure that he answered every question in class before Wilson had a chance, and once when he had known that Wilson had been interested in a certain woman, this guy went out of his way to get her first, and rub it in Wilson's face…he just made Wilson's life miserable.

House had always been a people watcher. He'd been watching this behavior for some time now. He and Wilson had studied together on numerous tests, so he felt just a bit protective of the younger man, though he'd never admit it to anyone. He didn't have many close friends, so the ones that he did have, he would protect to some degree.

One day House decided to put an end to this guy's behavior once and for all. When the man entered the class the next day, he took his usual seat directly in front of House and Wilson, and House started it up right away.

"I think you're wrong." House said, overly loud to Wilson. "He's cute in his own type of way." Wilson raised an eyebrow at House (not having been informed of the plan beforehand). They both saw the man twitch slightly. Knowing that he'd heard, House continued. "Just let him ask you out on _one _date…free dinner and a movie…you might have to let him kiss you though, so be prepared for that." The man seemed to half-turn, and then changed his mind. House scowled at the back of his head and laid it on thicker then ever. "You know that he's infatuated with your big puppy dog eyes, thick brown hair and innocent face. What man could resist?" Now Wilson was a pretty shy guy so he was blushing profusely. He had no idea what House was up to…they'd only studied together on a couple of occasions, he didn't even know the man that well! House looked back to Wilson from the back of the guy's head when he didn't get a reaction. "Come on just one date with Mark—Max—Matt—what's his name anyway?"

Finally the guy in front of them _did _turn around and with an angry sneer on his face. "Excuse me, are you talking about me!" He growled to House.

"What's your name?" House asked innocently enough.

"Martin." He said with a scowl and a glare.

House snapped his fingers and looked back to Wilson. "Ah yeah! It's Martin, right?" He looked back to Martin who was breathing heavily in anger as he looked about ready to jump out of his chair toward House. Through it all, House remained as blasé as ever. "We were merely discussing the fact that you were gay, and that you have a crush on Wilson." House replied with a calm expression and a shrug. "Nothing to be ashamed about, but I just don't think that Wilson feels the same way about you. He's traditional in that he digs chicks, not guys."

Martin turned three shades of red with anger and embarrassment. "I'm not gay." He said in a hushed menacing whisper.

"Yes you are." House replied indifferently. ""You've tried to flaunt your knowledge at Wilson by showing him your high grades. You've tried to impress him by answering all the questions asked in class. Then when those didn't work, you tried to make him jealous by dating his would-be woman. Face it; you have a crush on Wilson."

"I don't!" Martin practically yelled, then lowered his voice. "Take it back!" He growled at House.

House made a face at Martin. "What's with your need for approval by everyone? Let me guess, you have no interest what-so-ever in becoming a doctor. Your Mom was a doctor, you Dad was a doctor, and I bet that good ole Uncle Joe was even a doctor. Because of your situation you want to be accepted by them, you _need_ their approval. Just like your need for Wilson here. You want him to approve and accept you, but I hate to break it to you…Wilson's not gay. Never has been…never will be…well except for that one time—

Wilson smacked House in the gut. House grunted, glanced at Wilson and continued. "Point is, it's not going to happen. Move on, and for God's sake, go to college for something _you _want to do. All the world needs is a doctor who's _forced _into his profession and doesn't give a damn whether his patient lives or dies because he doesn't have the passion for his line of work."

House nodded at Martin as he finished, then looked toward Wilson who was open mouthed and looked a little lost. Then House opened up his notebook and reviewed his notes, ignoring Martin completely. Martin looked as if he was ready to punch House for a moment, before he grabbed his bag and without a glance toward Wilson stormed out of the room in a huff.

Wilson half-turned to watch him go, still a little speechless. He then looked back to House who was still studying his notes. "How—

"I minored in Communication and Body Language." House said simply and continued to study his notes. Wilson shook his head as if to clear it, and the professor started talking. House glanced up from his notebook to the professor and then back to Wilson with a very House-like-smirk. "I just love people watching…don't you?"

* * *

Wilson smiled at the memory and looked down at Lori as she frantically scribbled down notes. "We've been friends ever since."

"Wow." Lori said. "That was some story." She hoped that she remembered everything later to put in where the notes were a bit sketchy. She glanced toward the exam room and saw that House was just closing the door and coming up to them in the busy hallway. She sighed softly, not quite ready to engage in a conversation with him again.

"He respects confidence." Wilson said quietly as they watched him approach. "Stand up to him. Toe to toe if you can. That's about the only way to gain a measure of respect from him."

Lori nodded and softly said, "Okay."

House stopped right in front of them and squinted first at Lori then toward Wilson. "Sharing secrets?" House asked Wilson, as he glanced between the two of them.

Wilson shook his head. "Nah. She just wanted to know how we became friends."

House smiled at the memory, and glanced off into space. "Good ole Martin." He looked back to Wilson. "What do you suppose he's up to now, anyway?"

"I believe that he's the lead technical engineer for Fanso Industries." Wilson said, and then shrugged at House's speculative glance. "What? He sends me emails sometimes."

House rolled his eyes. "He's probably hoping that you'll change your mind and cross over to his side."

Wilson shook his head. "Nah. He'd be too worried that you'd join us for Sunday brunch every week."


End file.
